An existing type of vehicle control system that is also referred to as a smart entry system performs authentication using wireless communication between a mobile key carried by a user and a vehicular device mounted in a vehicle and achieves an operation desired by the user, such as unlocking a door and starting an engine, on the basis on the result of the authentication without using a mechanical key.
A vehicle control system that changes vehicle control processing units appropriately based on a life cycle set according to the functions of vehicle control has been proposed (see Patent Literature 1).
A vehicle control apparatus that controls an opening/closing body of a vehicle using a mobile terminal that is carried by a user and includes a touch panel has been proposed (see Patent Literature 2).
A vehicle door control system has been proposed in which a mobile terminal is enabled to receive a state of a vehicle from a mobile key via widely known NFC (near field communication) and provide a service suitable for the state of the vehicle in a manner that corresponds to a change in state of the vehicle (see Patent Literature 3).
A wireless communication system has been proposed in which a mobile terminal receives a state of a vehicle or that of a mobile key from the mobile key and displays the state and an addressing method acquired through the Internet if the state needs to be addressed (see Patent Literature 4).
The number of part numbers cannot be reduced with the configuration described in Patent Literature 1 since a mobile key is not mounted in a vehicle. Additionally, such a criterion as a life cycle cannot be predicted accurately and thus is hard to apply to a mobile key.
In Patent Literature 2, an opening/closing body of a vehicle can be controlled using a mobile terminal. The mobile terminal communicates with the vehicle via a wireless LAN or a public communication line. Such a configuration requires a communication unit to be newly added to a mobile key and the vehicle because of the different communication system of the mobile terminal from that of the mobile key and the vehicle, thus leading to an increase in cost. Moreover, in comparison with the mobile key, the mobile terminal suffers a slower response time to an operation command (for example, the time taken from when the mobile terminal is operated until when a corresponding operation of the vehicle is finished), because the command is transmitted via the wireless LAN or the public communication line.
Mobile keys have different specifications for different vehicle models and different markets. First, the number of operation buttons is different in some cases (which makes different hardware). Additionally, the number of buttons may be the same, but the functions to be assigned to the buttons may be different. In such a case, pictograms representing the functions and formed (or affixed) on the surfaces of the buttons are different, and thus, different part numbers are assigned to the same hardware. Also, a function assigned to one of the buttons may not be necessarily suitable for the market or the state of a vehicle, in which case, the usability may be poor for a user.
The techniques described in Patent Literatures 2 to 4 can acquire the state of a vehicle or that of a mobile key via the public communication line or the mobile key. However, standardization of a mobile key or reduction in the number of its part numbers is not described or suggested in these Patent Literatures.